Of Timid Trainers and Confident Coordinators
by twilightwrites
Summary: He's an ill Trainer who refuses to be coddled. She's the Queen of Contests who'd like a break every now and then. A series of one-shots and drabbles focusing on Wally and Lisia. Eventual Wally x Lisia (HoennRemakeShipping); one-sided NewRivalShipping; implied HoennShipping.
1. Meeting in Mauville

Yo, it's japaneserockergirl, semi-emerging from the realm of fanfiction retirement. I started ORAS recently and decided to check FF to see who, if anyone, was shipping Lisia. I noticed a few Lisia x Brendan and the occasional Lisia x May, but absolutely _no_ Lisia x Wally (HoennRemakeShipping)! So, I decided to make a one-shot collection with these two. I mean, Wally needs love, too. XD

Enjoy~

 **DISCLAIMER:** I, japaneserockergirl, do not own any aspect of the Pokémon franchise. (Trust me, if I did, Ash would've been replaced a _long_ time ago, N and Hilda/Hilbert would've been reunited in BW2 like they were meant to, Riley x Cheryl would've been a thing, and you would still have freakin' customization-!)

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1: Meeting in Mauville

Wattson had really outdone himself—the new Mauville City, with its interconnected restaurants and shops, humble apartments, and green spaces was beautiful. That it was entirely powered by solar panels made the city even cooler to Wally, who had always been an architecture nut. And to think he'd almost agreed to go to Verdanturf—

"Excuse me, have you seen a boy with messy green hair and blue eyes?"

Wally's heart slammed into his ribcage. There was no way one of his family members had found him… _right_?

But when he glanced from the corner of his eye, he spotted his uncle in the distance talking to an Aroma Lady. Wally immediately dove into a corner—and into a stranger.

"Oof!" the girl cried as she fell, the hood of her jacket falling back to reveal a turquoise ponytail and her sunglasses tilting to reveal an alarmed eye of the same color.

"I-I'm sorry!" Wally apologized as the girl scrambled to fix herself up.

"Wally? Wally, is that you?"

"Oh no…" Wally moaned before diving into a closet. From within, he could hear his uncle's approach.

"Excuse me miss, but have you seen my nephew? His name's Wally, looks about your age, has green hair and blue eyes?"

Wally shut his eyes to keep them from tearing. This was it. The girl was going to tell his uncle he was in the closet, his uncle was going to drag him home, and his journey would be over. No more catching teammates, no more helping Brendan with his research, no more May…

"Sorry, but I haven't seen anyone who looks like that."

Wally's eyes flew open. What? Was she…protecting him?

"Oh, okay…" his uncle sighed, "Wait a minute, you kind of look like—"

"Is your nephew a Trainer? Maybe he's at the gym challenging Wattson!"

"No, I already tried there. Thanks for the suggestion, though. Have a nice day."

Wally heard his uncle's footsteps fade as he left. After a few agonizing moments, the girl whispered close to the door, "The coast's clear."

Slowly, Wally emerged from the closet, glancing around. "Thanks for covering for me. But why?"

The girl smirked. "Let's just say I know someone who used to be in your boat."

Wally chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "T-thanks again. I really appreciate it. C-can I make it up to you with lunch?"

Wally couldn't see her eyes, but the girl seemed to light up. "Sure! I know this really great café downtown. We could sit in the back so your uncle doesn't see you." She tugged his arm, and he followed her.

"Okay! By the way, I'm Wally."

The girl paused in her stride, as if thinking. After a moment, she replied, "Lisia."

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 **A/N:** Sorry that it's rather short, but I'm sure future one-shots will be longer. I have about eight planned (the fic will probably be 8-10 chapters long), but if anyone has prompt suggestions, I might take them (emphasis on the _might_ ; it is my final semester in college, after all!). I hope you enjoyed reading. Feel free to leave comments and constructive criticism!

japaneserockergirl

9/24/15


	2. Discovery in DesertEdge

HoennRemakeShipping and MindfulHeartShipping (Tate x Iris) are now official ship names! While the Neverending Romance shipping list hasn't been updated with the new names yet, their associated tumblr list, pkmnshippinglist, has approved them!

Acknowledgements:

 **DisneyWriter** —I will consider writing a chapter with Wally trying a contest. It'll be a bit tricky, since I usually imagine contests occurring like they do in the anime, but I'll do my best!

 **KuraOkami13** —I'm glad that I captured Wally well! He's one of my favorite rivals, and I want to do him justice.

 **Ten-Faced** —Yup, I did indeed upload it. I rarely go back on my word!

Thanks to **Cerin Star, JulCan1987,** and **shadow217** and the above for the story alerts/follows and/or favorites!

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2: Discovery in DesertEdge

DesertEdge City, located on Route 111 and the last bit of civilization before the Desert Ruins, was much humbler in comparison to Mauville; the houses were dusty browns and yellows, there were fewer shops and restaurants, and there was no gym. Yet this small city had been chosen by the League to host a contest this season.

Wally couldn't help but grin as he stared at the tawny ticket in his hand. May was competing in this contest, and she had invited him and Brendan to watch. Unfortunately, Brendan had had to go to a research conference with his father at the last minute. But while Wally was disappointed that his male friend couldn't go, he felt giddy about spending time alone with May.

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"Are you sure about this, Lisia? I wasn't exactly a hit at the last contest," May murmured, tying her hair into a bun.

She stood in front of a mirror in her dressing room, her beauty supplies scattered across the counter. Lisia, who sat in a bean bag chair, found the sparkling one-sleeved red top and matching miniskirt a nice fit for her protégé, even if she was disappointed that May no longer wore the outfit she'd picked for her. She was even more disappointed by May's lack of self-confidence, however.

The Top Coordinator approached May, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up, May! We can't win 'em all. But this time, you'll definitely walk out of her with a ribbon. I can _feel_ it!"

May grinned nervously. "If you say so…"

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Wally secured a seat just as the announcer arrived on stage.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! I'm Vivian Meridian, and welcome to DesertEdge City's first ever contest!" shouted the redheaded announcer. After the cheers and applause died down, she added, "Wow, what a welcome! I hope you're this enthusiastic about our special guest."

A spotlight shone on the VIP section of the audience. The plasma television screen above Viridian flashed an image of a girl with turquoise hair and eyes. Wally leaned forward, eyebrows furrowed. This couldn't be…?

"DesertEdge, let's give a warm welcome to Top Coordinator Lisia!"

" _What_?" Wally screeched, his exclamation lost in the sea of cheers, claps, and whistles.

 _This_ had been the girl that had saved him two weeks ago? He sunk in his seat, covering his face to hide his burning cheeks. Not only had he knocked down a celebrity, but he'd asked her to help him play hide and seek with his uncle, too!

 _She must've thought I was being a baby!_ Wally took a few deep breaths. _Lisia's a famous Coordinator, right? So she's probably been so busy lately that she doesn't even remember me._ He removed his hands. _Yeah, that's it. And even if she does remember, it's not like we'll ever see each other again._ He took another breath as he looked back onstage, where the judges were finishing their appraisal of the first contestant. _Besides…_

"Wow, what a wonderful performance by Mimi and her Glaceon, Glaze!" Vivian said, "Now, here's our next contestant, May Maple and her Combusken, Maggie!"

May ran onstage, waving as Maggie followed, her outfit shining in the spotlight. Wally felt the heat rising back to his face as he smiled.

 _I came here for May._

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 _Congrats on ur 2_ _nd_ _ribbon! Where r u?_

 _Dressing rm 10. Meet me there?_

 _Sure!_

Putting his Pokénav away, Wally walked backstage, flashing his pass to get past the security guards. Upon reaching her dressing room door, he took a deep breath, then knocked.

"May? Are you done changing yet?"

"Almost… _done!_ You can come in now, Wally. I'm just talking to a friend."

 _Another friend?_ May hadn't mentioned that they would be hanging out with a third person. Wally sighed; maybe it had been unrealistic for him to assume that they would be alone. After all, May was the most extroverted of their trio.

He opened the door to find May chatting with… _Lisia_?! Wally's face exploded in color, while Lisia paled upon recognizing him.

"Hi, Wally!" May greeted, "I want you to meet my new friend and Contest manager, Lisia. Lisia, this is Wally, one of my friends."

Lisia looked away as she played with the frills of her skirt. "Uh, we…we kinda already met, heh…"

"What, really? Where? When?"

"I-In Mauville…" Wally mumbled.

"Mauville?" May looked at the ceiling or she recalled their conversation two days ago. "Oh! This Lisia and that Lisia are the same Lisia, huh?"

"L-looks like it…"

"What a small world! Hey, Lisia, are you free for the rest of the day? We could hang out at the places Wally suggested." May turned to him. "You don't mind, do you, Wally?"

Looking into those bright blue eyes of May's, Wally found himself mumbling, "N-no. Not at-at all…"

May turned back to her manager. "Lisia?"

"Yeah, I'm free. Let me just change into a disguise…"

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That afternoon was the most awkward one in Wally's life, but May hardly noticed his and Lisia's discomfort, or if she did, she refused to let it get her down. At sunset, when May said she had to head to Verdanturf to visit relatives, Wally couldn't have been more relieved.

"I take it _you're_ not heading over there?" May teased.

Wally laughed, "No way! Verdanturf's _crawling_ with my relatives. I'm off to Lavaridge."

"Oh, you're headed to Lavaridge?" Lisia asked, "I'm going there, too!"

 _Of course you are…_ Wally thought.

"For their contest, right?" May inquired.

"Yup! And I have a photo shoot, too!"

"Great! I'll make sure to reach Lavaridge in time to see it!"

Lisia turned to Wally. "I wouldn't mind giving you a ride there. Ali, my Altaria, can take us!"

"Well, actually—"

"So that settles it, then!" May said, "Wally, you'll go with Lisia to Lavaridge, and I'm going to start heading over to Verdanturf tonight—"

" _Tonight_?" Wally echoed.

"Why don't you stay the night in the Pokémon Center?" Lisia asked.

"Because my aunt's making Lum berry pie, and the sooner I get there, the sooner I can eat it!"

Wally and Lisia sighed. Leave it to May to travel alone at night just for the sake of food.

"See you guys later!" May waved as she ran towards the town exit.

When May was no longer in earshot, Wally blurted, "You know, you don't _have_ to give me a ride to Lavaridge."

"Huh?" Lisia tilted her head.

Wally flinched; he had sounded pretty rude, hadn't he? "I-I mean—! You must be in a huge hurry, and I don't want to get in your way…" Wally looked down at his shoes. "…like last time…"

"No, it isn't a problem at all!" Lisia sighed. "You see, this is why I wear disguises…" She flicked one of the auburn hairs of her wig from her face; she had learned from last time. "Everybody starts acting weird when they find out you're famous. I really didn't mind helping you with your uncle, Wally, or hanging out with you afterwards. It was nice just hanging out with someone for once."

Wally looked up. "It was?"

"Yeah. In fact, I wouldn't mind hanging out with you more often. I could always use more friends."

Wally blushed. "I-I wouldn't mind being your friend! You're really nice, and I don't have a lot of friends, either, so…" _Oh, why did you_ say _that?_ he chided himself, _You're supposed to be convincing her that you're_ not _a loser!_

But Lisia just smiled. "Great! So we'll set off tomorrow morning after breakfast!"

"Wait, what? But I said that you _didn't_ need to give me a ride!"

"Oh, but isn't that what friends do?" Lisia said, skipping off before Wally could protest. He sighed.

 _I really need to stop getting myself into these kinds of situations…_

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 **A/N:** You know what, I'm just going to pretend that Lisia's a really common name in the Pokémon world. XD

Also, if you're wondering why Lisia didn't participate in the DesertEdge contest, it's because she made a promise to May that she wouldn't compete in the same contests as her until the Grand Festival. After all, May can't grow as a Coordinator if she keeps losing ribbons to Lisia.

I'm sorry if Vivian's personality didn't match her anime one. Between my internship, my other classes, dealing with the noisy neighbors in my apartment, and the backlog of anime I'm watching, there simply isn't time to watch episodes of the Pokémon anime.

DesertEdge isn't an actual city in the anime, games, or manga(s). I just made it up to help lengthen the fic. I'll probably set some chapters in anime-only cities along with chapters in made-up ones, but the fic will take place in the game universe, not the anime one.

I went through three names for May's Combusken—Blaze (too cliché), Obsidian (didn't feel right), and finally Maggie (after magma). And I wasn't thinking about anime!May when I gave her a Combusken, either. Torchic is just my favorite starter for Hoenn.

Thanks for reading! Until next chapter!

japaneserockergirl

10/15/15

P.S. If you guys make any HoennRemakeShipping fics, please let me know. I'd _love_ to read them!


	3. Pairs in Petalburg I

Hey, all! Sorry for the wait! At first, I was very busy making sure to end my undergrad years on a good note (which I did with straight As, baby!), but then there was the holidays and starting the job search (and still being in the freaking job search…). It really didn't help that I may have overthought this particular prompt and got stuck in Analysis-Paralysis land for a few months.

But here it is, the response to DisneyWriter's prompt! Originally, it was only going to be one part, but after the plot bunnies had bunnies, it's going to be either two or three parts long. I hope you enjoy Wally and Lisia's ordeal in Petalburg~

 **Acknowledgements:**

 **Cottonmouth25** —Wally or Lisia alone is cute, but together they're cute^2! Hope you don't suffer too much blood loss, loti.

 **Ten-Faced** —you're right about the lack of name repeats in the Pokémon world(s). The only repeat I can think of is Proton/Lance and Lance/Wataru, but even then that's a meta example.

 **MenacingRelic98** —glad to see you're enjoying the fic, even though it's not normally your cup of tea. I always like hearing that kind of thing from reviewers/readers. Just makes me feel all special! XD

And thanks to **Toshiro of the Eternal Dream** , **80person27** , **XANAVirus** , **Unovan** , **WolfeyStar** , **bluefox381** , and everyone else for the faves and/or follows!

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3: Pairs in Petalburg (I)

"Wait, _what_?" Lisia gasped.

After the last of the latest string of contests, she and her fellow Coordinators Marianne and Violet had donned disguises and headed to the nearest restaurant, as usual. And as usual, they'd been having a good time—until Violet dropped that bombshell.

"Yup," she said, her purple hair bobbing as she nodded, "The next set of contests involves duos. Something about wanting to mimic Sinnoh's Tag Battles or whatever."

"But how do you know?" asked Marianne.

"My cousin knows a guy who's a part of the Committee, and they overheard the higher ups talking about it."

"Ugh," Marianne sighed, sinking into her seat, "Why would they do this _mid-season_?"

"Yeah, that does seem a little last minute…" Lisia mumbled. After all, it was tricky enough to come up with outfits and appeals for one's own team, but for _two_ teams? Besides, at this point in the season, everyone had developed their own style, and it wouldn't be easy to mesh them.

Violet shrugged. "You know the Committee. They always want to 'keep us on our toes'. Luckily for me, I got this scoop first and have already snagged a partner."

"Hey Lisia, maybe you could pair up with Chaz," Marianne teased.

Lisia grimaced. "No way. I mean, Chaz is a great Coordinator and all, but he can get—"

Lisia's Pokénav Plus vibrated. She pulled it from her purse to find the name CHAZ flashing on its surface.

"Speak of Giratina…" she muttered before flipping it open. With a strained smile, Lisia greeted the image of Chaz's face with a "Hey, Chaz! How are you?"

"I'm quite well! But really, aren't I _always_? But never mind _me_. Lisia, have you heard the rumors about the next set of contests?"

"Y-yeah, of _course_. My uncle always keeps me on top of the news!" _Except this time_. Oh, she and Uncle Wallace were going to have words the next time they met.

"So, I'm assuming you're in need of a partner?"

"Actually…no! I-I've already found one. Lucky me!" Lisia gave Marianne a not-so-gentle shove under the table when the silver-haired girl snickered.

Chaz frowned, and Lisia felt her stomach tighten. But instead of calling her bluff, he replied, "Oh. I see. Well, what's their name?"

"Jaden! His name's Jaden."

"I haven't heard of any Coordinator in the Hoenn circuit with that name…"

"That's because…he's my newest recruit! And as his mentor, I feel I should guide him through this set, especially since it's a new theme, y'know?"

Chaz huffed. "I suppose, but you should really be more careful. Not all of your recruits can be like June."

"You mean May?" Wait, why hadn't she said that she was going to pair up with May? _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

"Yes, her. And I would hate for your reputation to be dragged through the mud by some amateur. I wish you luck, Lisia." The call disconnected. Lisia rolled her eyes.

"Why did you lie to him?" Violet asked, "He could've been your partner."

Lisia shook her head. "Like I was trying to say, Chaz is a great Coordinator, but he takes things way too seriously. I'm surprised he even asked me, since he's always calling us rivals."

"But who're you going to ask to pose as 'Jaden'?" Marianne said.

"I have someone in mind…"

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"Please, please, _please_ , Wally!" Lisia begged, shaking her clasped hands and causing their table to shake.

The two of them were sitting inside a café in Petalburg, a decision Wally had made and was grateful for, as the chatter of the other patrons kept their conversation from being overheard. He still adjusted his wig, however.

"I don't know, Lisia. What if my parents recognize me on TV or something? I mean, I'm wearing a wig, but still…"

"I know, I know. But if worst comes to worst, I can always fly us out of the city ASAP!"

"I don't get it, though. Why can't you ask May?"

Lisia looked away. "W-well, as her mentor, I feel it would be bad for her image if people began assuming she was riding on my coattails."

"You…you didn't think of her when you were talking to Chaz, did you?"

"No…" Lisia sighed. Not until it was too late, anyway. "I panicked, okay? I'm not good under pressure!"

Wally bit back a snort. The great Lisia King, four time Top Coordinator and known as the Contest Queen of Hoenn, wasn't good under pressure?

"The point is I need a _male_ partner for this contest, and you're the only other male I trust to do this with."

"But I've never entered a contest before. I don't even have a Pass!"

"But you've won five gym battles, right? Battles are half the contest! And leave getting the pass to me."

Wally was silent, mulling over Lisia's proposal. After a few incredibly awkward moments spent not looking into his friend's pleading eyes, he sighed. "You'll help understand the appeals part of the contest?"

"Yup!"

"And if my parents catch on…"

"We'll fly out of there like a Zubat out of the Distortion World."

" _Fine_."

"Yay!" Lisia grabbed him into a spine-splitting hug. "Thank you, thank you, _thank you_!"

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Wally and Lisia sat under the shade of a tree in the midst of Petalburg Park, watching their Pokémon play as they tried to figure out who would be working together in the contest. While Ali was Lisia's most prominent Pokémon, she also had a Marill (Marie), Meditite (Medi), Breloom (Lou), and Beautifly (Beauty). Wally had released his Gallade (Knight), Magneton (White Noise), Roselia (Rose), Delcatty (Delia), and Azumarill (Azure).

"Okay, how about White Noise and Marie? Think about it: bright bubbles shattered by powerful electric shocks, giving the audience a nice, light shower on a very hot day!"

"But what if we accidentally hit Marie?"

Lisia frowned. "True…"

"How about Knight and Medi? They could do a kind of 'sparring match' where they each display moves instead of fighting."

"Ooh! I like that!" Or, at least, Lisia _did_ , until both Trainer and Coordinator looked up from Lisia's sketch pad to find the aforementioned Pokémon fighting. Well, it was more Medi trying to punch a very bored and—if the emotions threatening to well up in Wally's chest was any indication—exasperated Knight's shin. "But it doesn't look like those two like each other very much. Medi, if you can't play nice, then you're going back in the ball!"

"Medi!" Medi snapped, but stormed away from Knight and over to a tree to meditate. Knight sighed in relief.

Wally glanced over to find Rose and Marie having a much easier time. The Grass/ Poison type had produced a vine between her roses and was using it as a jump rope between the two of them.

"How about those two?" he asked.

Lisia looked towards Rose and Marie. Both were cute, they actually liked each other, and Roselia were fairly popular in the Coordinating world without being overdone. " _Yeah_. They could work."

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Five days before Petalburg's first contest, Wally and Lisia visited a fashion boutique to come up with a matching pair of outfits. The store was bustling with customers, many of whom seemed to be Coordinators; thus, they had their hands full navigating the store. Wally was extremely grateful upon their arrival at the men's section, where there were fewer people.

"Not that I'm not glad that we're out of the crowd, but shouldn't we be looking for your outfit first? What if those girls get all the good stuff by the time we come back?"

"That's possible, but it's way easier for me to come up with outfit ideas when it's quiet, so I'll just have to take that risk." Normally, Lisia wouldn't have to shop for a new contest outfit, as she picked everything during the off-season and thus had a 'Marill' outfit. But with Wally forced to wear a wig instead of his normal hairstyle, Lisia's outfit was going to have to match Rose instead. "Let's just focus on you for now."

While Wally waited in the dressing room, Lisia scoured the rows of clothes with Marie. In the midst of her search, she saw it: one of the most beautiful outfits she'd ever seen. They couldn't use it for this contest, but it didn't mean they couldn't try it on for kicks. Lisia smirked as she brought it to the fitting room.

"Hey Wally, try this one!" she said as she tossed it over the door.

"But this doesn't look like a Marill!"

"I know, but just try it on. I wanna see how it'll look on you."

" _Fine_ ," Wally huffed, muttering that training had been way more fun than this. After a few minutes of fumbling, he emerged from the fitting room in a dark green, long-sleeved and buttoned shirt with yellow stitching on the cuffs and shoulders and yellow-green pants.

"Yes, this is perfect! Just need to do one thing…" Lisia pulled off Wally's wig, grabbed a comb from her purse, and run it through Wally's hair. "There!"

Lisia stepped back to appraise him. She figured that all the outfit needed was a corsage in one of the breast pockets, and it would work perfectly…for a 'Roselia' outfit.

She sighed. "If only you didn't need a disguise…" Lisia shook her head. "But never mind that. Just go back inside, and I'll keep looking!" Humming, she dove back into the clothing racks.

Wally looked at his reflection in the fitting room mirror, slowly turning as he gazed at the outfit he'd been forced to try on. "Perfect?"

0000

 **A/N:** Time for some world building explanations! In regards to contests, each participating city has five contests, which all together make up a 'string'. Some strings have a theme (ex. crossdressing, tag-team, pajama), others don't. It depends on the Contest Committee's—the organization that oversees all Contest-related events in the region—mood. Usually, these themes are determined before the season starts, but this time, the Committee decided to have a little fun (read: troll the hell out of people) and give Petalburg a theme mid-season.

In regards to participation, a Coordinator can compete in up to five contests as long as they haven't won one in the string. Like the games, moves can be deemed Cool, Beautiful, Cute, Tough, or Clever, but like the anime, these contests are not labeled under these categories (meaning you can do a combination of any of these types of moves without being penalized for a move not 'fitting' the 'label'). Each contest in a string happens 1-2 days apart from each other.

Like the anime, all contests consist of an appeal round and a battle round. Originally, Hoenn didn't have a dress-up requirement for contests, but later decided to follow Sinnoh's lead. Even then, however, Hoenn's dress-up requirement isn't quite as strict as Sinnoh's ('cause it's really freaking hot in Hoenn, so dressing up too much would be ill-advised).

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter—once the writer's block stopped, that is—especially Chaz's dialogue. I feel I'll have a _lot_ of fun writing him in the future.

Next time: Lisia and Wally (or 'Jaden', if anyone asks!) take the stage! But they're in for an unpleasant surprise!

Thanks for reading!

japaneserockergirl

2/22/16

P.S. I keep forgetting to mention this, but Lisia, Wally, May, and Brendan are about 14/15 years old in this fic. Also, HoennRemakeShipping and MindfulHeartShipping (Tate x Iris) are now officially listed on the Never Ending Romance page!


	4. Pairs in Petalburg II

Hey, sorry for the wait, everyone! I've had a good chunk of this chapter done for a while, but wanted to wait until after I wrote the battle to upload it. However, I realize that it's been _months_ since my last update (seven!), and it's not fair to keep y'all in suspense for that long, so I'll just post this here and have the next part up next month.

 **Acknowledgements:** **  
JimmyDANj2** -Here's the update! :)

 **the mad nimrod** -Lol, if you wanted to deck Chaz as you read about him, then I've done the characterization correctly!

 **Mettaton-Marcia** (Guest)-No, you are certainly _not_ the only person who ships Wally x Lisia! Alas, I feel like we are but a small dinghy on this vast ocean full of massive ships…

 **MenacingRelic98** - _Will_ Wally's contest debut turn out to be a disaster? Only time will tell.

Thanks to **Lilac Gemini** , **Sir Isaac of Clark** , **TheGalacticPakistani** , **razgriz108** , **bananasoup82** , **luis014** , **Ajayapplepie** , **storyseeker7** , and everyone else for their faves and follows!

Enjoy!

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4: Pairs in Petalburg (II)

The contest hall was shaped like an upside down pink carnation, which Wally found very fitting for Petalburg. But that did little to calm his nerves as he and Lisia walked inside. Would any of his old classmates be here? Would they recognize him through his disguise if they were? And the contest itself-what if he forgot the moves Rose needed for the appeal? What if he got tongue-tied during the battle? _Was it getting hot in here_ -

"Jaden? Jaden!" Lisia gave him a slight shake. "Calm down. We'll be fine." She smiled.

Well, if the Top Coordinator thought so…He took a deep breath. "Okay."

They didn't even get past the entrance to the hall before someone cried, "Hey, it's Lisia!" Faster than a blink, a small crowd had formed around them, most of them with Poke Navs for pictures.

"Good luck in today's contest!"

"Is May competing, too?"

"How's Petalburg been so far?"

Lisia answered each comment with ease, a genuine smile on her face. Wally found her sense of calm admirable.

"Who are you?"

Wally turned to a little girl, who had tugged his pant leg. He smiled.

"I'm Jaden."

"Are you another one of Lisia's protégés?" asked another fan.

"Kind of? I-I want to try one out to see if it's something I'd like to do more of in the future."

The fans murmured and nodded approvingly. Wally could feel the tension fading away in waves. The disguise was working! And no one seemed to be put off by his presence next to Lisia, either.

"Now, I'd love to chat more, but Jaden and I need to prepare for the contest."

"Oh, of course!"

"Sorry to get in the way!"

The small crowd parted, allowing Lisia and Wally to continue towards the dressing room. Once they were out of earshot, Wally asked, "How'd you handle that crowd so _easily_?"

Lisia placed a finger on her cheek thoughtfully. "Practice, I guess? Oh, and people used to come up to me all the time back when Uncle Wallace used to train me, so that helped. Plus, they're always so friendly, so it's not hard to chat with them."

"I see…" Prior to meeting May and Brendan, Wally hadn't known a lot of friendly kids. He was often homeschooled due to illness, and at school, he wasn't exactly popular.

"But you did pretty good back there! I could hardly tell you were nervous."

"Oh, thanks! I guess seeing you so calm helped me feel calm."

The dressing/prep room was large and branched out into stalls. Coordinators were busily dressing up inside said stalls or fixing their hair and makeup in at the mirrors, talking to each other or to their Pokémon as they did. Others combed, brushed, or bathed their Pokémon. The whole thing looked very chaotic to Wally.

"Okay, so you can choose any dressing stall to change in. Once you're done, let me know so I can do your makeup."

" _My_ makeup?"

"Of course, silly," Lisia giggled, "We gotta enhance your featu-"

"Good morning, Lisia!" someone called. The two turned to find a blond male approaching them.

"Good morning, Chaz!" Lisia replied, "So, I take it you found a partner?"

"Yes, I did! I feel confident that she and I will just dazzle!"

"Where is she? What's her name?"

"She's changing right now, and her name is Saffron."

"Saffron, Saffron…don't think I've ever seen her before. But there are a lot of Coordinators this year. Uncle Wallace says there's been a 20% increase since last season!"

Wally, not sure he'd get a good opening to speak otherwise, greeted, "Sorry to interrupt, but my name's Jaden. It's nice to meet you."

There was a momentary flash of irritation from Chaz, but it quickly turned into a smile. Wally wasn't sure what to make of it. "Ah, _you're_ the new protégé Lisia has been talking about. Is this your first contest?"

"Yes. B-but I hear that battling's half the contest, and I just got my fifth gym bade, so I think everything'll be fine."

"Well, there's more to contests than just _battling_. It's the melding of combat with _beauty_ , but I'm sure Lissi's already told you that. She's one of the best, after all."

"Y-yeah. She's shown me a lot, and I'm sure we can win."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Jaden." Chaz patted Wally's shoulder a little too hard for his liking. "Saffron and I are nothing to scoff at. Good luck, you two!"

Chaz walked away. Relief washed over Wally as he sighed. "I don't think he likes me."

"No, no, it's not that," Lisia replied, "Chaz is just really competitive, and I guess he's still a little sour that I didn't partner with him…" She pouted. "But he doesn't need to be so rude about it…"she grumbled. When Wally didn't respond, Lisia added, "We'll do just fine. You're a great Trainer, and I'm a four-time Top Coordinator! Nobody else stands a chance."

Lisia had so much faith in him, despite him only being friends for a few weeks? He smiled warily. "Yeah, you're right."

If she believed in him, then he was going to do all he could not to let her down.

0000

Their turn for the appeals round took forever to arrive, and as he and Lisia walked onto the battlefield, Wally's heart pounded furiously. But it was too late to back out now. Besides, Lisia was counting on him. Taking a deep breath, he pulled out Rose's Poké Ball.

"Rose, time to battle!"

"Marie, let's play!"

The Roselia and Marill materialized onto the field.

 _"Lisia and Jaden have brought out a Roselia and a Marill, nice and stable choices in the cuteness department!"_ Vivian, the host, announced. So far, so good.

"Marie, use Bubble!"

Marie blew out a swarm of bubbles.

"Rose, counter with Magical Leaf!"

Rose summoned glowing leaves, then hurled them at the bubbles with a flick of her wrist. The bubbles burst in flashes of rainbow droplets.

 _"Such a colorful display!"_

"Hail, Marie!"

 _"Uh-oh! Marie's about to use a super-effective move on Rose-"_

"Spikes!" Wally shouted, slightly annoyed with the disruptive commentary. He and Lisia knew what they were doing.

Rose summoned spiked rocks from underground just as Marie conjured a storm cloud. When hail started to fall, Rose thrust the spikes into the hailstones. They dispelled into sparkling crystals and dust upon impact.

 _"Such daring! It looks like Diamond Dust!"_

Wally smirked. He looked at Lisia, who nodded. Time for the finishing touch.

"Icy Wind!"

"Petal Blizzard!"

Marie and Rosie spun around, creating a chillingly cold twister and a swirl of petals. The two swirled towards each other and joined hands, combining their vortexes into one-a cool yet fragrant breeze. Rose and Marie came to a stop, neither fazed by the spin.

"Marill!"

"Rose! Lia!"

The audience cheered.

 _"A fantastic finish, ladies and gentleman! Let's see what our judges have to say!"_

Wally gulped, picking up Rose with his gloved hands as he and Lisia marched to the front of the judges. Viridian and the audience had enjoyed the show, but had the judges? Lisia gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. They had done their best.

The first one, a wavy-haired woman-Kiera-said, "That was such a lovely display! Going from rainbows, to diamond dust, to dancing petals-it was beautiful! Great work, you two."

Wally's shoulders loosened slightly. One down.

The second judge, Jordan, was a sharp-dressed man, possibly in his late twenties like Kiera. "I have to go with Kiera on this one. That was quite the feast for the eyes. But I expect nothing less from the great Lisia King."

"Oh, you," Lisia teased, waving Jordan away. Wally smiled. They were actually doing this.

But Wally's calm evaporated when his eyes fell on the third and final judge, an older gentleman named Dexter, who appraised him sharply. Even the audience, which had been cheering after Jordan's and Kiera's comments, fell completely silent.

"Jaden, is it?" Wally nodded. "Is it true that this is your first contest?"

Oh no, had he blown it? "Y-yes, sir."

"Well, I find that quite hard to believe, considering how well you handled yourself back there."

"Oh, thank you-"

"Ah, I'm not finished. You handled yourself well-you both did-but there was one small issue with your performance."

" 'A small issue'?" What? Had it been the timing? The appearance of their Pokémon? _What_?

"Your first two combinations were based on bright, dazzling collisions, but your finale was more… _subdued_ , if you will."

The audience groaned, something that didn't help Wally's nerves. He didn't dare look at Lisia, as much as he wanted to see whether this was as bad as he thought it was.

" _Still_ not finished," Dexter said, "Despite the quiet ending, both of you did very well, especially given the short notice about the change in theme. You have taught Jaden well, Lisia."

Wally's mood rose with the audience's cheers. They'd done it-at least, he thought so?

 _"And that concludes Jaden and Lisia's performance! Next up, Chaz and Saffron!"_

As Wally and Lisia walked back to the dressing room, she said, "See? I told you we could do this!"

"I-I hope so. I'm kind of worried about what Dexter said…"

She waved him off. "He's like that with everybody. Plus, he said it was a small thing, so chances are we'll still advance."

"Lissi!" Two girls-one dark-skinned with purple hair, the other light-skinned with silver hair-cried as they ran up to Lisia.

"Violet! Marianne!"

Marianne hugged Lisia. "You guys did great!"

"Yeah, congrats!" Violet added, nodding at Jaden.

"Thank you," Wally replied, starting to feel a little giddy over so much praise in one day.

"You guys did great, too!" Lisia said. She looked up at one of the flat screen TVs affixed to the walls. "Oh, look! It's Chaz and Saffron!"

In contrast to Chaz's blond hair and hazel eyes, Saffron's hair was dark, long, and wavy, purple strands falling past her shoulders. Mauve eyes nonchalantly scanned the stadium.

"Is she a Hex Maniac?" Marianne asked.

"Ghost Whisperer," Wally corrected, "They don't like to be called Hex Maniacs." Unease formed in his gut. Ghost Whisperers were known to specialize in two types of Pokémon: Ghost…

…and _Psychic_.

"Macherie, it's your time to shine!"

"Caster, materialize!"

Chaz's Poké Ball released a Machoke, an odd choice for a competition focusing on beauty, but nothing alarming. But when Caster emerged, Wally's unease swelled into horror.

 _"A Machoke and a Mismagius! Such a unique combination!"_

0000

 **A/N:** Dun dun dun!

As a side note, I _really_ like the Hex Maniac Trainer class. I don't know exactly why, but I just do, and was ecstatic when Gamefreak brought them back in Gen 6. And considering that no one really writes fics about them, I decided to include one here. The idea of calling them 'Ghost Whisperers' instead of Hex Maniacs is part of a world building idea for a future nuzlocke fic.

With their team facing a 'mon that bears a type advantage, can Wally and Lisia still win the Petalburg contest? Tune in next time to _Of Timid Trainers and Confident Coordinators!_

japaneserockergirl  
9/6/16


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